


rose colored glasses

by wrenkos



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: (kind of?), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Ghosts, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-05 01:01:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16357619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrenkos/pseuds/wrenkos
Summary: Usually they don’t add in extra items in the Monomachine, but in reality the chances to obtain said item just increased with two people killed. She imagined it will only go up in the trials to come. Something she’s almost looking forward to.She hopes (and she laughs, a little, at the idea of that) that the gatcha gods are kind and lets someone roll that today. Kind, to her, at least, since she knows they’ll be quite cruel to the others.(Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all.)





	rose colored glasses

**Author's Note:**

> ndrv3 spoilers.
> 
> tw referenced character death. (ch1 deaths)

With the death of a pianist, a fitting closing act, and another of an ironic survivor, and who dared to be bold enough to oppose her, Shirogane Tsumugi has successfully started the killing game. Boo hoo, poor Kaede, but nevertheless the first motive is a success and there will be more to come soon. The players, one by one and sometimes in pairs of two and sometimes even three, will all fall until there is the final chapter. This is Danganronpa, after all.

She smiles to herself, and she’s quite certain nobody knows what, exactly, is making her so delighted (and that’s if anyone even notices her at all) but she sits, in the dining hall, peering into the teacup before her. They likely think it's just the plain old smile she wears anyways. None of them even have a clue.

With the achievement of two deaths, things previously left locked will now be open to access - the labs, but that happened yesterday. The items that can be collected from the Monomachine are what she has her eye on.

Usually they don’t add in extra items in the Monomachine, but in reality the chances to obtain said item just increased with two people killed. She imagined it will only go up in the trials to come. Something she’s almost looking forward to.

She hopes (and she laughs, a little, at the idea of that) that the gatcha gods are kind and lets someone roll that today. Kind, to her, at least, since she knows they’ll be quite cruel to the others.

(Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all.)

* * *

After everyone’s daily routine is all said and done with plans to meet being exchanged and another day in this hell begins, she listens absentmindedly, not quite getting close or too distant to anyone. A word here, a word there, an awkward laugh to her plainness and she basks in the glow of these ultimates, the faint thought of how these puppets will fall when their bonds are cut swiftly and cruelly.

Impatience and curiosity eventually gets the best of her as the students filter out, one by one. After bidding Toujou goodbye and saying a quick thanks for breakfast, she whisks herself away to the mastermind’s lair, going through her routinely procedure of checking the security cameras. Out of all of them, Saihara and Kiibo are the ones that frequent it the most - with Hoshi appearing to attempt to get candy from it every now and then - and she inspects the footage closely for a certain pair of rose colored glasses.

“Rose colored glasses”. An interesting name for a pair of glasses that grants the wearer with the ability to see, but not speak, to the souls of the dead. She hopes Saihara in particular obtains them. Whoever you see changes from person to person, and she isn’t even sure who she would see herself, but she’s quite certain Saihara would see his oh so dearly departed Kaede Akamatsu. Who else but everyone’s tragic hero who she sent to her death? It would only be fitting.

Besides, she’s sure someone out there might appreciate Saihara in a pair of glasses - fans are quite weird. According to some of the information she has, one fan commented that they wanted to “break his fingers”, which is, frankly, a bit questionable but she decides not to think about it. The very fact that this is among the things that she has been told of the reviews from the outside world is a question in itself. She doesn’t bother with it.

(Whatever generates money, she supposes. She wants - no. She _needs_ this season to be perfect. If not, then her entire existence just wouldn't have any meaning, now, would it?)

She glances at the clock, deciding to best hurry this up before someone smart enough to see her when she entered the washroom thinks she's drowned herself in a toilet or something. How tragic would it be if someone found her out before the last trial after she had gotten away with such a big victory in the first chapter?

She's just about to leave when she spots a gold rim and tinted pink lenses in the hands of the false detective on the screen, immediately abandoning her thought of leaving. The video, formerly being played at a higher speed, is toned down to the regular speed and watched intently.

Saihara inspects the glasses and puts them on, and for a moment nothing happens, and he seems almost disappointed in this result. He turns, going to leave the room when he pauses and Shirogane cannot hold back a cruel smile at the way he drops another object he is holding. Although the video footage doesn't show what he sees, blonde hair and a smile comes to mind.

He goes pale, and since he's quite pale anyways it's quite a sight so see and it's almost like - ha! - it's almost like he's seen a ghost. He backs up a little, one step then two steps and his foot makes contact with the machine behind him and he has nowhere backwards to go anymore.

_“Akamatsu-san…you're supposed to be…”_

His voice trails off. She listens attentively to his every word.

_“No, this isn't...damn you, Monokuma. This is so...this is so cruel…an image? Kaede, I…”_

He stays there, lingers, before he takes the glasses off.

_“That... isn't real. I promise you, Kaede, I will carry out your wish.”_

(‘That isn't real'. None of them are, really.)

Shuichi on the screen leaves after that, too. Likely to reflect.

She, too, leaves after that.

A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. She allows it.

* * *

The day carries on, and she checks every now and then to see if anyone else has stumbled upon the glasses, or if Saihara had done anything else but pocket it. Nothing really catches her eye, and she sighs. Well, it was fun while it lasted. A quick tear-jerker for the audience. There will be more to come.

The grace period between motives and trials carries on as per usual, and she finds herself in the library, reading some manga. (An underrated series.)

To her almost surprise, she looks up to see Shuichi Saihara enter the library.

“Ah, Shirogane-san,” he says, waving. “I thought you’d be here, or maybe in Toujou-san’s Ultimate Lab… would you like to hang out?”

She blinks, and for a moment she thinks, _oh. He’s onto me,_ before pushes the thought away entirely and smiles back, “Er...are you sure you’re looking for plain ol’ me? Hanging out with me would be kind of…” she pauses. “Well, if you want to, I just finished this book for the 40th time!”

Saihara smiles, albeit a bit nervously, and she can see the appeal of his fanbase. A shy detective blooming into someone more confident. It’s almost charming.

She spends the day with him, talking about anime and manga and games and how she’s so plain. Saihara weighs in every now and then, occasionally with a question and a nod, and she’s certain he’s a bit lost in her ramblings. But it’s nice, to talk to someone else about her interests, even if they don’t understand the bulk of it.

* * *

“Oh! By the way, Shirogane-san,” he says, after most of her talkings are over and now she’s just going over trivia and fun facts, “I found something earlier that I think you’d like?”

Her eyes twinkle, and he sees, and he laughs slightly. “It’s...nothing too special. Just a pair of glasses. I thought you’d like them, since you have glasses...”

He takes out the rose-colored glasses. She honestly doesn’t know how to respond.

“Maybe you could use them for some of your cosplay? They’re actually rather pretty…”

She takes them from his hand, “Oh, they are pretty...it has a pink tint to them! I’m sure some casual cosplay outfits could make do with these…Ema Skye vibes…”

“The Monomachine description says you can see the dead with it. Um! Not that I think you should, er, but, aha...maybe you could wear it on your head instead?”

Tsumugi can practically _hear_ the ‘wrong choice’ sound playing in her head.

“See the dead? Um...Saihara-kun, I appreciate the thought, but maybe this is better in the hands of Shinguuji-kun or Angie-san…or you should keep it…anime isn’t dead, Saihara-kun. It’s very real!”

“Oh,” Saihara says softly. “I...okay.”

“...But a gift is a gift,” she pockets it, “I appreciate the thought.”

* * *

In all honesty she doesn’t know what to do with this gift. For now, it sits on her desk, glinting slightly from the pink hue of the lenses. Throwing it out would be too mean (and she wouldn’t want Saihara to find out) but keeping it would just mean it would collect dust.

But she is also slightly tempted to try them on. Shirogane herself doesn’t know who she’ll see, after all. Maybe Amami. Maybe Akamatsu. Who really knows?

She picks it up, twirls it around in her hand. Putting on two pairs of glasses at once is...well, it makes anyone look like an idiot, but that’s fine. Not like she’s important enough to get screen time, and especially not like this.

She stares at the glasses, takes a deep breath - well, she’s not even sure if the dead will look pretty, maybe Amami will appear before her with his skull bashed in, she doesn’t know - and puts them on.

She scoffs. “Of course. Did Amami-kun know I killed him? Of course not. He died not knowing anything about himself. A tragedy.”

She’s about to take them off when she sees a figure in the corner of her eye.

She turns.

(She regrets it.)

Rantaro Amami stands before her - not that Rantaro Amami. The one from the 52nd season. The same face as the one she knocked dead.

His eyes stare at her. An expressionless expression that she wants to take another steel ball and throw at.

(Don’t look at me that way.)

_(Don’t look at me that way.)_

(Because in her last life, he was prince charming and she was the one at his side. She had almost forgotten.)

Beside him are all the other participants. Some of them, she was quite close with.

The faces are familiar. Burned into her skull. She thought she had washed them all away.

 _No,_ she thinks. _They shouldn’t be here._

They shouldn’t be here. This is the 53rd season. They’re _dead._ Their time in the spotlight is over. The mastermind shouldn’t be --

All her thoughts turn to dust and ashes as they start to move.

And in contrast she cannot, cannot lift even her pinkie finger if she even wanted to and her breath catches in her throat. She forgets how to breathe, even. She doesn’t know what to do. She can only watch, dumbfounded.

(Maybe she thought this wouldn’t happen because she is the mastermind. But despair can be inflicted onto anyone, she thinks, somewhere in the part of the brain that can still do so.)

Amami lifts his finger, points at her. The rest of them follow his actions. Like he would do when he found evidence. An objection; a counter, and she knows the pose well.

(Memories come flooding back and she thought she had buried them all a long time ago.)

15 pairs of eyes, all trained to her, and she has no idea how to react.

The Ultimate Adventurer opens his mouth, and she almost expects his voice to come out. The Ultimate Survivor didn’t have a peep when he died. Only a thud as he hit the ground.

But of course, no sound comes out. Somewhere she forgot that the glasses can only allow you to see. Not hear.

He mouths one word.

_ ‘Mastermind.’ _

Yes, she thinks. Yes, I’m the mastermind, no longer someone good. Yes, she knows, she’s the mastermind and the old Tsumugi Shirogane, the one who auditioned to be in hell and the one who was the helper of the 52nd season, are both dead.

Yes, she thinks again, and finally she can move, I am the mastermind.

(I will not falter.)

She takes the glasses off and tosses them into the corner of the room.

(I am the mastermind. This will not shake me. This season will be perfect.)

The glasses hit the wall. She hopes they break.

Silence. No ghosts. Just her own ragged breathing.

But she can feel her skin itching like there’s actual blood on her hands.

 

**Author's Note:**

> admittedly i posted this without intending to, and then realized i posted it, deleted it, and then posted this. so if you got a double email from this, sorry??
> 
> but this idea has been on my mind for some time now, and i'm actually proud of how it turned out! yet another shirogane fic, haha. as always, thank you for reading, kudos/comments are very much appreciated!


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